Kelvin Sheppard has known Dan Campbell longer than you might realize, and the Lions linebackers coach has a telling and unsurprising story about the head coach.
When Kelvin Sheppard signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2014, Dan Campbell was on the coaching staff as tight ends coach. Campbell became interim head coach the following year, and, as passed along by Kyle Meinke of MLive, leaned on Sheppard as a veteran leader. The two became close, and stayed in contact.
Fast forward to 2021, when Campbell was hired as Detroit Lions head coach. Sheppard had spent 2020 back at his alma mater LSU as Director of Player Development, and wanted to apply to be on Campbell’s staff in Detroit.
Via Meinke, Sheppard shared his thoughts entering that interview as he considered cutting his hair for the first time since he played at LSU.
"I had aspirations,” Sheppard said. “I wanted to be a coach. Anything I attack, I want to reach the pinnacle of it. So I did my research, (saw no Black head coaches or coordinators had dreads). I look at that and those are what the facts were at the time. So it’s not me being paranoid. Those were the facts. So if I’m going into something, I want to know the facts, those are the facts.”"
Detroit Lions: Kelvin Sheppard’s Dan Campbell story is not a surprise
Upon telling Campbell he was thinking about cutting his hair, the Lions’ head coach’s response was exactly what you’d expect.
"Thinking about cutting your what? What? Are you crazy? First of all, I love your hair. But seriously, Shep, if I’m hiring you, if anybody’s hiring you, they’re hiring you because of you. You got those jobs because of who you are, not because of somebody you’re trying to become.”That,” Sheppard said, “resonated with me.”"
Campbell is refreshingly and unabashedly who he is, without worry about outside perception. That clearly resonates with players, and his coaching staff is not immune. He will not try to change who people are, lest they be less effective in their jobs.
Sheppard circled back toward his future coaching aspirations, but shy of that it’s clear he’s not looking to leave Campbell.
"Until the Lord blesses me one day with an opportunity to be a guy in charge, I don’t want to work for anybody else,” Sheppard said."